Gate-operating mechanism.



A LARSEN.

GATE OPERATING MECHANISM.

Attorneys 1 Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

lawman n m 0 m z wltnesses m3 COLUMBIA PLANUGR\ A; LARSEN.

GATE OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2, 1915.

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Attorneys UNITED STATES PATENT @FFTQE.

ANDREW LARSEN, OF NEW IBERIA, LOUISIANA.

GATE-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Application filed November 2, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW LARSEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Iberia, in the parish of Iberia and State of Louisiana, have invented a new and use ful Gate-Operating Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention appertains to gates, and relates more particularly to gate operating devices.

It is the object ofthe invention to provide novel and improved means for opening and closing a drive way or other gate when a vehicle or a person on horseback approaches and leaves the gate, manually operable devices being mounted at suitable distances at the opposite sides of the gate whereby said devices can be readily operated the occupant of a vehicle or a person on horseback for opening the gate when it is approached and for closing the gate after it has been passed.

The mechanism includes novel and improved features of construction to enhance the utility and eiiiciency thereof.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter de scribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of the gate and its operating mechanism, portions being broken away. Fig. 2 is an elevation of one of the posts and operating levers carried thereby. Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line of Fig. 2. Fig. at is an enlarged fragmental detail of the device illustrated in Fig. 3. Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged sectional details taken on the lines 5-5 and 66, respectively, of Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is an enlarged elevation of one of the gate posts and the respective gate hinged thereto, portions being broken away. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the device for operatively connecting the two gates, portions being broken away. Fig. 9 is a fragmental elevation of the other gate post and gate. Fig. 10 is an enlarged plan View of a device interposed between the gates and operating Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

Serial No. 59,280.

levers, portions being broken away. Fig. 11 is a sectional detail taken on the line 11-11 of Fig. 10.

The gate structure embodies a pair of posts 1 defining the gate way therebetween, and having a pair. of gates 2 hinged thereto. The gates 52 may be of any suitable construction for providing a barrier or closure for the gate way.

The upper hinge of each gate embodies a cap secured upon the upper end of the hinge stile 4: of the gate, and journaled to a hinge plate 7 disposed below and attached to the lower outstanding flange of an angle bracket 8 carried by the respective post 1.

The lower hinge of each gate embodies an angular corner brace 13 receiving the respective lower corner of the gate 2, and having a depending boss 11 at its elbow provided with a downwardly projecting pintle 15 journaled for rotation within the outstanding bracket 16 bolted or otherwise attached to the post. The lower pintles 15 are disposed loosely within the brackets 16, in order that when the upper hinges are adjusted, the stiles 1 of the gates can be adjusted to the desired positions.

The two gates are operatively connected to swing simultaneously in opposite directions, as indicated in Fig. 1, and to this end, the bosses 11 are provided with W-shaped levers having their intermediate portions integral with the bosses, and having angular or V-shaped arms 17 at the opposite sides. These arms 17 accommodate the corners of the post 1 when the gates are swung, as will be apparent by reference to Fig. 8, and this allows the gates to be hinged close to the posts and free to swing through an arc of 90 degrees. The arms 17 at the opposite sides of the gates are connected, and to this end, clevises 18 have their ends pivoted to the ends of the arms 17 and the clevises at the opposite sides have their bends connected by wires or rods 19. The arms 17 at the opposite sides are thus linked together in order that the gates will swing open and closed in opposite directions. A second pair of clevises 20 have their ends pivoted to one pair of arms 17 and have wires or rods 21 connected thereto, whereby said wires can be operated for swinging the gates open and closed. The wires 21 extend away from the gates, and the arms 17 and elements connecting them are covered by a board 22 disposed between the posts 1 below the gates 2 and having its ends fitting the posts. This prevents the vehicle wheels and other objects moving through the gate way from injuring or interfering with the gate operating mechanism.

The wires 21 extend to a device 23 which is a part of the operating mechanism, said device embodying a casing 24 in which is mounted a horizontal plate 25 forming a double lever, said plate having a central vertical pivot 26 so that the plate is rotatable in a horizontal plane. Opposite clevises 27 are terminally pivoted to plate or lever 25 at the opposite sides of the pivot 26 and have the wires 21 connected to their bends, whereby when the plate 25 is oscillated, the wires 21 are reciprocated for oscillating the arms 17, in order to swing the gates open and closed. The plate 25 is connected to the manually operable members as will hereinafter more fully appear.

Wires or rods 28 have their adjacent ends pivotally engaged with the plate 25, as at 29 and said wires extend in opposite di rections to suitable distances from the gate. Wires or rods 29 associated with the wires 28 also extend in opposite directions from the device 23, and have their adjacent ends connected to the remote ends of a pair of bars or straps 30 passing above and below the plate 25, the plate 25 being movable between said bars 30. One of the bars 30 has a short slot 31 in which works a bolt or other element 32 fixed to the plate 25, whereby the bars 30 have limited sliding movements relative to the plate 25.

The device 23 embodies means for locking the plate 25 in two angular positions whereby the gates will be held in open and closed positions, and to this end, an angular or V-shaped latch 34 has its terminals pivoted as at 35, to the casing or frame 24, and the plate 25 is provided with a pair of out standing lugs 33 arranged at a suitable angle relative to one another. One arm of the latch 34 is provided with a lower notch 36 adjacent the bend or elbow of the latch and in which the lugs 33 are engageable when the latch 34 drops with the plate 25 in one position or the other. The lugs 33 are alternately engageable with the latch to hold the plate 25 with the gates either open or closed.

The upper bar 30 is provided with means for releasing the latch before the plate 25 is oscillated, and to this end, said upper bar has a longitudinal cam flange 37 movable under the latch 34. The ends of the flange 37 are inclined and cotiperate with the respective arm of the latch 34, it being noted that the bars 30 have limited sliding movements relative to the plate 25. Thus, supposing the parts to be arranged as illustrated in Fig. 13, when the wire 29 nearest the observer or the wire 28 farthest from the observer is pulled, the bars 30 will be slid relative to the plate 25 so that the cam flange 37 moves under the latch 34 and swings the latch upwardly to release the respective lug 33. Then, when the element 32 strikes the end of the slot 31, the plate 25 will be moved with the bars 30, said bars in being reciprocated imparting an oscillatory movement to the plate 25, and when the plate is moved to its new position, the

cam flange 37 will have passed the latch 34 and this allows the latch to drop into engagement with the other lug 33. When the bars 30 are moved in the opposite direc tion, they slide slightly relative to the plate 25 which causes the cam' flange 37 to again release the latch, in which event the plate 25 will be moved to its original position.

The pairs of wires 2829 extend away from one another to suitable distances from the gate and are connected to devices 38 carried by the lower ends of posts 39 disposed at one side of the drive or road way, and having the operating levers 40 fulcrumed thereto adjacent the upper ends of said posts. The devices 38 serve to opera tively connect the wires 2829 and the operating levers 40. Said operating levers have relatively long arms projecting toward the drive or road way and provided with pull cords 41 depending therefrom and having handles or grips 42 which may be grasped by the occupant of a vehicle or a person on horseback, so that the levers 40 can be conveniently operated when a person is approaching and leaving the gate, without leaving the vehicle. Each device 38 em bodies a casing 43 having a slot 44 receiving the respective wires 2829, and having an upper slot 45 through which a rod 46 extends, said rod being connected pivotally at its upper end to the short arm of the respective lever 40. A vertical plate or lever 47 is pivoted within the casing 43 to swing in a vertical plane about a horizontal axis, the pivot 48 of the plate 47 extending therethrough adjacent the center thereof and being attached to said plate by means of angle members 49. The plate 25 above described has a similar pivot. The respective ends of the wires 2829 are pivotally connected with the plate 47 above and below the pivot thereof, whereby when the plate 47 is oscillated, the wires 2829 will be reciprocated for oscillating the plate 25 as above described. I v

The plate 47 has an approximately diametrical slot 50 which when the plate 47 in one position is'inclined in one direction, and when the plate 47 is oscillated to its opposite position, the slot will be inclined in the 0pposite direction. A clevis or doubled strap 51 has its bend secured to the lower end of the rod 46, and is provided with a pin 52 working in the slot 50 and terminally ensaid plate.

gaged to the limbs of the clevis 51 adjacent the ends thereof. The ends of said clevis are bent inwardly, as at 53, to slidably engage the opposite sides of the plate 47 so as to hold the limbs of the clevis spaced from The clevis 51, rod 46 and short arm of the lever 50 are of sufficient weight to overbalance the long arm 40 and pull cord 41, whereby the rod 46 and .clevis 51 will normally gravitate to raise the long arm of the lever and its pull cord 41, the pin 52 sliding to the lower end of the slot 50 whereby the corresponding wing of the plate 47 will. be swung upwardly when the lever 40 is actuated.

In order to prevent the pin 52 from sliding upwardlyin the slot 50 when the lever is actuated, an automatic latch 54 is carried by the plate 47, said latch being bent from a plate and being of U-shaped cross section so as to straddle the upper edge portion of the slot 50, the pin 52 being movable under the latch 54. The latch is pivoted between its ends byineans of a rivet or pin engaged through the flanges of the latch and through the plate 47 above the intermediate portion of the slot 50, and the ends of the flanges of the latch have inwardly bent cars 56 slidably engaging the opposite sides of the plate 47 to properly guide the latch for swinging movement parallel with the plate 47. The ends of the latch 54 termi nate short or are spaced from the ends of the slot 50 to allow room for'the pin 52 be tween each end of the slot and the respective end of the latch 54, whereby the latch will hold the pin 52 at the respective end of the slot. The latch 54 is weighted so that it will swing properly, and to this end, the flanges of the latch are provided above the pivot 55 with upstanding portions 57 having weights 58 attached thereto. lVhen the plate 47 is swung to the position illustrated in Fig. 8, the weights 58 in being moved past the vertical plane in which the pivot 55 lies will swing the latch 54 so that one end thereof swings behind the pin 52 and holds said pin in the lower end of the slot 50. Then when the lever 40 is operated to raise the rod 46, the plate 47 will be swung clockwise as illustrated in Fig. 3. When the plate 47 swings beyond a neutral .or intermediate position, the weights 58 are moved beyond a dead center position, and will fall to the opposite side, thereby swinging one end of the latch 54. away from the pin 52, the respective end of the slot 50 now being raised while the other end is lowered. When the lever 40 is released, the clevis 51 and rod 46 will drop to return the lever to normal position, and the pin 52 can now slide downwardly in the slot 50 to the opposite portion of the plate 47, since the latch 54 was automatically disengaged from the pin 52 when the plate 47 was swung as above indicated. When the pin 52 reaches the lower end of the slot 50, as seen in Fig. 4, it will pass the end of the latch 54, and the latch will swing behind said pin to hold the pin in its new position. lVhen the lever is again operated, the plate 47 will be swung counter clockwise, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4, so that the wires 28-29 are reciprocated in the opposite directions.

From the foregoing, the operation of the mechanism will no doubt be obvious without further explanation, but briefly stated, the operation is as follows: hen a person is approaching the gate, which is normally closed, the respective lever 40 is operated by means of the pull cord 41, and this swings the respective plate 47 in the proper direction to swing the plate 25 so as to open the gates, the plate 25'being automatically released as above indicated, and when the gates are opened and the respective lever 40 released, the. plate 25 will be latched to hold the gates open until they are passed. The other lever 40 is now operated which will oscillate the respective plate 47 to return the plate 25 to normal position, thus closing the gates, and locking them. It is evident that when one lever 40 and plate 47 are operated, the other will be operated also, and it is also evident that the samelever 40 can be used for both opening and closing the gates, since when the gates are opened, the lever 40 is returned to original position, and when it is operated the second time, the gates will be closed.

The present mechanism provides effective and convenient means whereby a person approaching a gate in a vehicle or on horseback can open the gates without demounting and then close the gates after they are passed. The gates in being normally closed will prevent animals or other farm stock from escaping from the inclosure and will also exclude dogs and other animals from the inclosure.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a gate structure, a hinged gate, an oscillatory member linked to the gate, a latch for holding said oscillatory member when the gate is opened and closed, and means for oscillating the said member and operable to release said latch before said member is moved.

2. In a gate structure, a hinged gate, an oscillatory member connected thereto, a latch engageable with said member to hold the gate in either open or closed position, and an actuating device including a bar having limited sliding movement relative to said member and having a cam coiiperable with the latch for releasing it when the bar is moved in either direction.

3. In a device of the character described, an oscillatory member rotatable about a horin order that that end thereof at the lowerendof the slot will swing behind the pin, the pin being released after said member is swung to raise the pin so that the pin slides to the opposite end of the slot.

4:. In a device of the character described, a vertical plate rotatable about a horizontal axis and having a slot which is normally inclined, said plate being adapted to operate a gate, a clevis having a pin working in said slot and having its limbs disposed at opposite sides of said plate, manually operable reciprocatory means connected to said clevis for raising it and normally allowing said clevis to gravitate so that the pin moves to the lower end of said slot, and a latch of U-shaped cross section straddling the upper edge of said slot and having its flanges pivoted between their ends to said plate, the ends of said latch terminating short of the ends of the slot to hold the pin at either end of the slot, the intermediate portion of the latch having an upwardly projecting weighted portion whereby the lower end of the latch is swung downwardly and the upper end thereof is swung upwardly, said pin being movable under said latch.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ANDREW LARSEN.

Witnesses:

LOUIS INDns'r.

C. J. MEs'rAYER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

